Lake Technical College students received high marks and were awarded medals during the regional SkillsUSA competitions. Congratulations to the following Lake Technical College students (* indicates a high school student who is dual-enrolled at Lake Technical College): Automotive Mark Lee – Postsecondary – Gold Kevin Cordero – Postsecondary – Silver Camron Stephenson* – Secondary – … Read More »

Lake Technical College students received high marks and were awarded medals during the regional SkillsUSA competitions. Congratulations to the following Lake Technical College students (* indicates a high school student who is dual-enrolled at Lake Technical College):

Lake Tech’s SkillsUSA chapter is made up of over 270 students and advisors, many of which recently competed at the Region 3 level. The students who received medals at the regional competition will move on to the state-level competitions April 30-May 2, 2018 at the SkillsUSA Florida State Leadership and Skills Conference in Pensacola, FL. The students are currently raising funds to help cover their travel expenses to the state competitions. Donations can be made directly to the Lake Tech Business Office for SkillsUSA – please call 352.589.2250, ext. 1827.

SkillsUSA is a nationally recognized organization whose mission is to “empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens. SkillsUSA improves the quality of America’s skilled workforce through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical, and professional skills training. SkillsUSA enhances the lives and careers of students, instructors, and industry representatives as they strive to be champions at work.” More about SkillsUSA can be found on their website www.SkillsUSA.org.

In the Weeks Ahead at Lake Technical College Board of Directors’ Meeting, March 5, 4:30 pm TechXPO, March 12, 5-7 pm, Main Campus Rookie Teacher of the Year Ceremony, March 14, 6 pm Partners for Success, March 28 pm ACADEMIC AFFAIRS HOSPITALITY & TOURISM Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – Students in the culinary program made … Read More »

In the Weeks Ahead at Lake Technical College

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

HOSPITALITY & TOURISMProfessional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – Students in the culinary program made Stromboli’s this week and the rest of the students on campus enjoyed eating them!

HUMAN SERVICESCosmetology – Several of Lake Tech’sCosmetology students entered the National Junior Star Styles online competition. These students earned their sponsorship via an in-house competition. We were lucky enough to have Lake Technical College and Great Clips sponsor our student. They have done an awesome job.

The Spa Day fundraiser will be held on Saturday, March 31 from 9 am until 3 pm. All proceeds will go to the SkillsUSA state competition. Sign up soon as the packages go fast!

MANUFACTURING
CNC Production Specialist – The CNC Production Specialist students are looking forward to visiting FLC Machine early next week for a work day. They are excited about putting their skills to work. The picture below is an air compressor being installed, so we are closer to working on our machines.

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICSAutomotive Service Technology – In the picture below, one of our students is removing spark plugs as part of a tune up project he had to complete as part of the curriculum. While doing so, learned how important it is to keep up with regular maintenance and how detrimental it is to a vehicle if simple maintenance routines like a tune up are overlooked.

Diesel Technology Technician – This week we congratulated two students for competing in the SkillsUSA Diesel competition. Benjamin Jones and Justin Davis competed. Benjamin won a silver medal and is going to state competition. We are very proud of both of you.

Guest speaker Brian Eldridge who owns Milling Technologies came in and talked to the class about job opportunities in the field and his business.

ADULT EDUCATIONAdult Basic Education (ABE) / GED Prep – The GED students continued lessons on Newton’s First Law of Motion with a hands-on lesson using matchbox cars. They made predictions, carried out experiments, collected data, solved math problems, and then determined if their hypothesis was correct, and had fun at the same time.

Many GED students have finished their GED Ready tests, the official practice tests to determine if they are ready for the real GED test. Some are waiting for their underage waiver to be approved. (Students under the age of 18 must meet certain criteria before they are allowed to take the GED tests) Other students have taken and passed many of the subjects. Alana, shown here, is our most recent graduate. Congratulations to all of you!

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY TRAINING

Information on the STEM Summer Camps to be held at Lake Tech starting in June is available on the school’s website and Facebook account. Please spread the word!

Laurie Bryant represented Lake Tech at the monthly Networking Breakfast at Seacoast Bank in Eustis on Tuesday. An employer was looking for IT interns, so she shared her contact information with Trevor Scharich in the CSIT program. Laurie also had the opportunity to meet a Regional Manager from the Florida Department of Financial Services who works with the Chief Financial Officer for the state. He has heard about the college and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and would like to visit the campus.

Morgan Black and Laurie Bryant represented Lake Tech at the Tavares Chamber Luncheon on Wednesday where Sheriff Grinnell and the LCSO were the featured speakers. They had the opportunity to meet the assistant to Congressman Daniel Webster, who also wants to visit the campus.

Laurie Bryant attended an Industry & Education Collaboration Overview Mixer sponsored by iBuild Central Florida on Thursday evening at Valencia College in Orlando. Representatives from partners in education and industry talked about workforce development in Construction by offering resources in education, training, internships, apprenticeships, and financial assistance. Speakers included representatives from Orange, Osceola, and Seminole County Public Schools, Valencia, ePathways, Seminole State College, CareerSource, Academy of Construction Technologies (ACT), NCCER, and iBuild. She gained some valuable information that can be used to help develop the Construction course that Lake Tech plans to offer in the fall.

STUDENT AFFAIRS

Spirit Day was a hit! All proceeds from the T-shirt fundraiser will go to SkillsUSA. The next Spirit Day will be held on March 15. More shirts are being purchased now as we ran out of some this past week.

GraduationIt is officially March and time to start thinking about graduation. Woohoo!!! Please remind your students that graduation is on Friday, June 15 at Lake Sumter State College (the calendar says June 12).

Starting Monday, March 5 students can order and pay for their graduation regalia (cap, gown, tassel). Please direct them to the kiosk first to fill out a form, then they go to the Business Office to pay. They may also call in with a credit card to the Business Office. The deadline for ordering is April 19. Attached is also a price list for the regalia. It would be a good idea to print this out and hang it somewhere as a reminder for students to purchase regalia, unless your students are in a program that wears a special uniform.

Dual EnrollmentApplications are now being accepted for the 2018-19 dual enrollment class. The application window is February 15- April 15, Submit applications to the Admissions Office.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Sonya Rosenglick has prepared a series of instructional technology workshops she is calling “Fabulous Fridays.” Take advantage of one or more of them so you can implement new tools into your programs.

Lake Technical College is opening its doors on Monday, March 12 from 5-7pm for the third annual Career TechXpo! Everyone is invited to this open house event. Last year, over 200 people attended the Career TechXpo – we hope to have an even bigger turnout again this year. During the event, participants will be able … Read More »

Lake Technical College is opening its doors on Monday, March 12 from 5-7pm for the third annual Career TechXpo! Everyone is invited to this open house event. Last year, over 200 people attended the Career TechXpo – we hope to have an even bigger turnout again this year.

During the event, participants will be able to stop by and visit as many programs as they’d like.

They will get to:

Meet the instructors – Learn about the program and gain valuable insight into various career fields and job opportunities.

Tour the program areas – See the classrooms and get a feel for the hands-on approach of career and technical education.

Experience the LTC culture – Chat with current students about their career-centered training and future goals.

Participants can choose to be entered to win LTC items and Lake Tech scholarships!

The TechXpo will take place at the main campus – 2001 Kurt Street, Eustis FL.

Instructors from the other campus will be in the lobby to discuss the programs available at the Institute of Public Safety (IPS). Representatives from the Admissions, Business Office, and Financial Aid will also be available to answer registration, enrollment, and payment questions.

We’re proud of what we do here at Lake Tech and we can’t wait to show it off.

In the Weeks Ahead at Lake Technical College

Board of Directors’ Meeting, March 5, 4:30 pm

TechXPO, March 12, 5-7 pm, Main Campus

Partners for Success, March 28 pm

Lake Tech Celebrates the 116th GeorgeFest Parade!

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTIONHVAC 1 & 2 – Instructor Steve Bagg used some integrated math in an HVAC lab today. Students were shown how to compute the conversion of pounds to ounces for refrigerant needed in charging a unit. The P3 students are moving right along and are entering the wonderful world of GED math concepts. Collaborative lessons and brain power makes for a fun class. We plan to take math on the road at the Adult Ed Hub in B building next week. The integration of academics into the technical program allows students to see why they really have to know the academic concepts.

BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATIONAccounting Operations / Administrative Office Specialist – This was a productive week for our Business programs. The Accounting Operations program had numerous OCP completers and many others are preparing to graduate soon. In addition to the busy course work, Denisse Barajas, one of the Accounting Operations’ students gave a very informative presentation on the topic of Business Letter Formatting.

HEALTH SCIENCEMedical Assisting – Students in the Medical Assisting program held a “Potlove” to celebrate Valentine’s Day. They also played pin the heart on the body! Recently they volunteered to work at the 2018 Child Protection Conference in Leesburg.

Practical Nursing – Instructor Anne Willey’s practical nursing students held their capping and pinning at Lake Sumter State College on February 15. The graduate nurses are now preparing for their NCLEX exam. After they pass it, they will be ready to go to work!

HOSPITALITY & TOURISMProfessional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – The kitchen was abuzz with SkillsUSA students from around the region. Lake Tech hosted both the Hot Foods and Restaurant Service competitions.

Monica practicing her royal icing techniques on some sugar cookies she made.

PUBLIC SAFETYCorrectional Officer – Graduation from the Correctional Officer program took place on February 20. For the first time in history, the entire class passed their state licensure exam on their first try!

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICSAutomotive Service Technology – Students from the Automotive Service Technology competed in the recent SkillsUSA competition and brought home four medals! Now, on to state competition.

Automotive Collision Technology Technician – Last Wednesday, students in both Automotive Programs were invited to a career fair at Hillsborough Community College. The students meet potential employers including insurance companies, who want to hire our students. The host school also provided a tour of their facility. The students had a great time and were able to network for their future careers.

ADULT EDUCATIONAdult Basic Education (ABE) / GED Prep – This week, reading students delved into the Calvin Cycle and Cellular Respiration. Comparing and contrasting each process, chemical equation, and interaction between plants and people; we looked at how we need plants! We also incorporated some GED math questions as students found that there is MUCH reading comprehension to be unraveled here. Our student of the month, Everett Deboer led a class discussion on an easy way to do percentages.

Our science lesson in the GED class was about Newton’s First Law. Motion, distance, speed, velocity, friction were tested by racing matchbox cars on different surfaces. Students had to make a hypothesis, determine the independent and dependent variables, test their prediction, record the data, and then determine if the hypothesis is correct.

Can you solve this GED math question? Our GED students can!

Our students have been steadfastly and studiously working on adverbs this week (see what I did there?), as well as learning some magnificent and extraordinary adjectives! We’ve utilized context clues in our readings about snakes, the country of Sikkim, heart transplants, and the great fire of Chicago. Next week, we will begin to write an expository paper in addition to Reading and Language Arts.

ESOL – It’s been a super sweet couple of weeks! What started out as a small soiree turned into a wonderful Valentine’s Day feast thanks to the generous nature of our students. There was much fun and conversation, flowers and chocolate, and many delicious dishes to sample. We incorporated a Valentine’s Day theme to our learning as we talked about The Five Languages of Love (Chapman), the vocabulary terms for relationships to one another in extended families, as well as American idioms. Our students were in great spirits for Spirit Day, sporting their tie-dye and 60’s outfits. Beyond the festivities, Advanced ESOL students studied the future progressive verb tense, and reflexive and possessive pronouns. Our Beginning ESOL students have been delving into count and non-count nouns, the negative in the present tenses, and have even written their own autobiographies! Maybe next week we’ll talk about ways to work off all that Valentine’s Day candy!

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY TRAINING

Information on the STEM Summer Camps to be held at Lake Tech starting in June is available on the school’s website and Facebook account. Please spread the word!

Laurie Bryant will attend the stemCONNECT meeting which is part of the Florida HighTech Corridor on March 5. By participating, Lake Tech will have additional opportunities for our students and in the community.

In addition, Laurie will also represent Lake Tech at iBuild. This is a five county alliance made up of industry and education partners interested in the construction industry. For more information, please go to http://buildcentralflorida.com.

STUDENT AFFAIRS

Spirit Day was a hit! All proceeds from the T-shirt fundraiser will go to SkillsUSA. The next Spirit Day will be held on March 15. More shirts are being purchased now as we ran out of some this past week.

SkillsUSA – Lake Tech hosted the regional SkillsUSA competition on February 15 and 16 and we have winners! Now, let the fundraising begin as students are headed to Pensacola for the state competition.

Lake Technical College is excited to offer STEM camps this summer for students currently in 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. During the 4-day camp, students will build, operate, and program robots to compete in fun and thought-provoking challenges; learn about and fly drones to gather information for a mock investigation; and design and print a … Read More »

Lake Technical College is excited to offer STEM camps this summer for students currently in 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. During the 4-day camp, students will build, operate, and program robots to compete in fun and thought-provoking challenges; learn about and fly drones to gather information for a mock investigation; and design and print a 3D model using SolidWorks.

“We are so excited to provide these STEM and career exploration opportunities to the middle school students in our county. With the new Center for Advanced Manufacturing on our campus, we are hoping that these hands-on summer camps will be a way to engage younger students and show them that manufacturing can be fun!” ~ Dr. Diane Culpepper, Executive Director of Lake Technical College

The 4-day camp (Monday – Thursday) will be offered four times this summer as follows: June 18-21, June 25-28, July 9-12, and July 16-19. Camp hours are 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM, and before and after care is not available. Camps will be held in the Center for Advanced Manufacturing located on Lake Tech’s main campus at 2001 Kurt Street, Eustis. The $100 registration fee includes lunch and snacks each day and a camp t-shirt. Financial assistance may be available for qualified candidates.

The camps are limited to 12 students per session, and applications are now being accepted through April 13. Applications may be available at elementary and middle schools. For more information on the camp, please contact Laurie Bryant at 352.589.2250, x1828, or BryantL2@lake.k12.fl.us.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTIONHVAC 1 & 2 – The HVAC/P3 program has its first completer of the semester. He passed his last subject area test – math, and is now officially a high school graduate! The other P3’s are right behind him gearing up for a great end of year finish. In HVAC, students are diligently working on the labs and creative assignments Mr. Bagg has compiled. These assess their skills and ensure they are paying attention to detail with efforts to increase customer service and knowledge about the unit skills. Several students graduated HVAC 1-2 this week and newcomers were added from the night class. These guys are getting it done.

HEALTH SCIENCEEmergency Medical Technician – Congratulations!!! Thirteen students in the Fire Fighter/EMT Combo program have completed the EMT course, which is the first part of the Combo program. These students will begin the last phase of the program which is the Firefighter course. We wish them the best in the next phase of the program.

HOSPITALITY & TOURISMProfessional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – This week in the Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality program, students had the chance to learn how to butcher a pig, make and serve Cuban sandwiches, and make some yummy desserts!

MANUFACTURINGWelding Technology – The Welding students are working on projects and welds.

CNC Production Specialist – Students are beginning to learn how to set up the new CNC machines and are learning he programming language that they will need to use to operate the machines.

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICSAutomotive Service Technology – This week, students were performing a brake inspection. Once that is done, a complete brake job will take place after determining what parts will be needed. in the process, the students earn what to look for when doing a complete brake inspection, the name of the components that make up the brake system, how to create an estimate based on the needs of the vehicle, and what tools will be needed to complete the job as well as the necessary steps to follow in order to have a safe and fully operational brake system.

Automotive Collision Technology Technician – Thanks to the Collision Repair Education Foundation! New products from the Sherwin Williams Product Show that was held in Orlando last week were donated to our program. These supplies help to keep the cost down of the program supplies and are greatly appreciated. Student Frannu Abraham helped the instructors pack and move the donations from the show to Lake Tech.

Diesel Technology Technician – This week, students learned how to pressure test intercoolers and tear down and rebuild 10 speed transmissions. We also started a 4bt cummins swap in a jeep for a customer. The students will learn how to fabricate mounts and engine fitment and use this opportunity to read and build wiring systems.

ADULT EDUCATIONAdult Basic Education (ABE) – In ABE math this week, it was all about fractions and using pictographs to better understand them. What fraction of canned drinks are ginger ale?

ABE reading students ventured into the wonderful world of photosynthesis and cellular respiration and how these are interrelated and the codependency of plants and humans is an essential element within the balance of the ecosystem. Use of various technology and Kahoot! Games led students into the chemical equations and processes of energy transfer within plants and people.

A big thanks to Mr. Netherton who taught us how to use paint application and print screen to create and print copying of images. He is a good teacher and never laughed at us (ok, maybe just once) when we had silly questions. Thank you, Mr. Netherton!

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY TRAINING

Six students completed Forklift Training and received their certification on Thursday. Part-time instructor, Robbie Robison, demonstrated the mechanical advantage of carrying a load closer to the center of gravity than at an extended distance. The next Forklift Certification class is scheduled for Thursday, March 29, 9:30 – 4:00 pm.

Laurie Bryant represented Lake Tech at a Ribbon Cutting & Business After Hours event at the new Atwater Apartments located near Florida Hospital Waterman on Thursday. The event was hosted by the Tavares Chamber of Commerce, and Jeff Cagan of Cagan Crossings in Clermont and President & CEO of Cagan Management Group, Inc. shared the honor of cutting the ribbon.

STUDENT AFFAIRS

Applications are now being accepted for the 2018-19 dual enrollment class. The application window is February 15- April 15, but some students are anxious to enroll – so we will take them early! Submit applications to the Admissions Office.

Corporate and Community Training Coordinator Laurie Bryant showed off the new 3D printer to the student ambassadors this week. Funds for this printer were secured through a Duke Energy grant. The printer will be accessible to students, instructors, and staff and will initially offer the ability to print 3D models of tools, parts, and products.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Sonya Rosenglick has prepared a series of instructional technology workshops she is calling “Fabulous Fridays.” Take advantage of one or more of them so you can implement new tools into your programs.

Sonya Rosenglick was celebrated at Lake Tech’s Teacher of the Year on Saturday evening! We are so proud of her and her outstanding work for our students and instructors!

IN THE COMMUNITY

Morgan Black represented Lake Tech “Through the Years” by decorating a table for the Eustis Chamber Monthly Breakfast on Wednesday, February 7.

Kim Frazier and Morgan Black represented Lake Tech at the Lake-Sumter State College annual counselors’ luncheon on Wednesday, February 7. Lake Tech sponsored the breakfast and had an opportunity to speak to them about LTC.

On February 12, Diane Culpepper will attend a manufacturing apprenticeship meeting in order to begin the process to offer this program.

On February 13, DeAnna Thomas and Diane Culpepper will participate in the iBuild meeting in Osceola County in order to learn more about a pre-apprenticeship program for the construction trades.

Quietflex Staffing from Groveland will be on campus on February 13 for a tour.

On Tuesday, February 6, Sonya Rosenglick attended East Ridge High School as part of the Job Readiness Panel. The panel spoke to the Junior Class about their career history, career readiness, job interviewing and answered questions from the Junior Class. The South Lake Chamber of Commerce organizes this event and the Panel visits all of the high schools in southern Lake County.

FOLLOWING LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

Diane Culpepper was in Tallahassee last week and met with Representative Metz, Representative Sullivan’s aide, and Senator Baxley.

Lake Technical College is happy to announce that the Adult Education program, “Correction Connection,” was just awarded a $13,700 grant from the United Way of Lake & Sumter Counties. The “Correction Connection” gives the inmates in the Lake County Detention Center who did not receive their traditional high school diploma the opportunity to earn it … Read More »

Lake Technical College is happy to announce that the Adult Education program, “Correction Connection,” was just awarded a $13,700 grant from the United Way of Lake & Sumter Counties. The “Correction Connection” gives the inmates in the Lake County Detention Center who did not receive their traditional high school diploma the opportunity to earn it through passing the GED® test. This grant will be combined with other program funds and used to help expand the GED® preparation and academic remediation program currently available within the Lake County Detention Center.

During the 2016-17 school year, Lake Tech was able to provide 76 inmates with the program opportunity. Of these, 73% of the individuals successfully passed the GED® Test and earned their State of Florida High School Diploma or achieved literacy gains. The grant, in conjunction with additional funds and scholarships from Lake Tech’s internal Adult Education budget, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Lake Sumter State College, the “Correction Connection” will now be offered as an opportunity to an increased number of inmates.

DeAnna Thomas, Assistant Director of Lake Technical College, states “While the program will be able to serve 100+ students face to face, the impact of this grant creates a positive impact on the economic growth and development for our community with specific focus on ‘Getting Lake County to Work’. Incarcerated individuals released with a high school credential is significant for the community, as they are more likely to secure sound employment, and become positive contributors to the public.” By implementing the “Correction Connection” initiative in this facility, the investment will produce a return that is vital to the economic self-sufficiency of those most at risk in Lake County. This program will provide GED classes, educational and career counseling, workforce readiness preparation, transitioning facilitation into post-secondary education upon release, and subsequent employment follow-up.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTIONHVAC 1 & 2 – Instructor Steve Bagg attended a statewide curriculum writing team meeting in Miami, but his students didn’t miss a beat. Ms. Avelli held down the fort and learned how to tell if a swedged joint will leak or not by seeing what it looks like when cut on a diagonal. Many students cut some of their swedged copper work and other students evaluated if the joints were made correctly or if leaks were evident.

On Wednesday, Mitsubishi Heat and Air held a seminar at Lake Tech for local contractors and owners of HVAC companies. Students from both HVAC 1 and 2 participated in the daylong seminar which was an excellent experience for all.

Also, big whoo-hoo to one of the HVAC student who took and passed his science GED test…math is his last subject and scheduled for next week.

HEALTH SCIENCEEmergency Medical Technician – Saturday, January 6th was Mock Trauma Day for the evening EMT program. This day is the highlight of the Trauma Module. Students participated in team relays and competed in timed events such as splinting, patient packaging, and bandaging. Students also participated in simulated trauma scenarios in which they assess, treat, stabilize and move the “patient” involved in anything from falls, to vehicle accidents.

Practical Nursing – Twenty-six new nursing students began class on the Clermont campus Monday. Instructor Debra Hampton is excited for the experiences they will all share this year.

HOSPITALITY & TOURISMProfessional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – Charcuterie was this week’s topic, featuring a Pâté en Croûte, made by Ryan. The final display was a joint effort, and it looked amazing!

MANUFACTURINGWelding Technology – Work is well underway in the new building. All welding machines have power thanks to electrician Evan Sartain. Instructor Bob Sherwood and the welding students designed and fabricated brackets so the welding machines could be moved from the floor onto the way in order to save space! Genius!

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICSAutomotive Service Technology – This week, students were learning how tuning can have a great impact on how a vehicle operates and all the variables involved to achieve a perfect tune.

Automotive Collision – Asbury Automotive Group made a presentation to the Auto Collision and the Auto Service students on what their company can offer students for employment and where they have dealerships in the region. The interviewed two Auto Collision students who were hired for the Honda dealership in Orange City. For more information on the Asbury Automotive Group, check out https://www.asburyauto.com/.

ADULT EDUCATIONABE — Afternoon – What a dynamic class, and they even love to read! Our daily reading passages generate a lot of discussion, excitement, and interest that warrants further reading and research. Other than reading, and a weekly spelling and vocabulary list, our students are going back to the basics of Language Arts with parts of speech. We’ve covered nouns, pronouns, and verbs, including the simple tenses to the more complex. Of course, there is a lot of opportunity for practical application and review, and we incorporate great websites in all that we do.

ESOL – Main Campus – Maps and Modals! That’s what we’ve been studying in Advanced English this week! More specifically, the practice of giving directions using a diagram of city blocks while participating in lots of fun, interactive, partner-driven activities. Moving from conversational skills to grammatical, it’s been a week of “would, could, and should” with practice, application, and review of the modal auxiliary verbs. Our Beginning English students are learning several verb tenses and enjoying our interactive Oxford Picture Dictionary program on the computer. All of our students enjoy many opportunities for listening, speaking, reading, and writing English daily along with weekly time spent on Civics and Job Skills. We even had the Automotive Department from right here at Lake Tech visit our classroom and generate much enthusiasm among our students about their program and the many that are offered here.

ESOL – Clermont Campus – We had a wonderful time with Dr. Culpepper! She came all the way down to the Clermont campus to present the Student of the Month award to Laurence Jacques. What a wonderful surprise!! The students were practicing their role plays for ordering at a restaurant. We practice every day! We have 25 people in the class and the food that they bring on a regular basis is absolutely fantastic! Please come and visit and share an “arepa” with us!!

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY TRAINING

Laurie Bryant, Coordinator for the new Corporate and Community Training Department represented Lake Tech at the Sumter County Manufacturers Luncheon on Tuesday where the focus was on Manufacturing and Distribution Workforce Insights and Trends. Representatives from local manufacturers and distributors, Sumter County Schools, CareerSource, and Economic Development were present. Two companies expressed interest in building a partnership with Lake Tech and/or receiving customized training.

Two representatives from FLC Machines in Leesburg, Mike and Trevor, visited campus on Wednesday. They toured the campus and spent time in CNC, Welding, and Automotive Service Technology. Thanks Chris, John, Bob, and Mark for taking time to speak to them. FLC Machines hopes to hire students in the future, is willing to offer job shadowing, internships, and equipment donations when available.

STUDENT AFFAIRS

Applications are now being accepted for the 2018-19 dual enrollment class. The application window is February 15- April 15, but some students are anxious to enroll – so we will take them early! Submit applications to the Admissions Office.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Sonya Rosenglick has prepared a series of instructional technology workshops she is calling “Fabulous Fridays.” Take advantage of one or more of them so you can implement new tools into your programs.

SPOTLIGHT ON INSTRUCTOR STEPHANIE SINGLETON

Stephanie joined the Lake Tech family just a few months ago and will be working as an instructor in the Medical Assisting program. We asked her a few questions in order to get to know her a little better:

What do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time, I work with Heart Headway (a non-profit organization). Our purpose is to use our heart to make headway to help others. I aspire daily to help others; Heart Headway allows me pay it forward. I assist mostly women in a number of ways from resume writing to finding food and clothing for their family.

What’s on the top of your bucket list?

Surprising, I would love to volunteer in a third world country.

What would surprise people the most to learn about you?

I’m a shoe hoarder, I own about 80 pairs of shoes.

Why do you like working at Lake Tech?

The staff and faculty are truly awesome, everyone is welcoming, friendly and genuinely cares. I also like/ love the fact Lake Tech is student- centered, and students are not treated like numbers to fill a seat. Every instructor I’ve spoken with wants the very best for their students and it shows.

FOLLOWING LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

Diane Culpepper will be in Tallahassee from February 5-7 meeting with legislators.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTIONHVAC 1 & 2 – Visitors from Florida State College in Jacksonville, Polk State College, and Orange Technical College were on campus last week to visit the HVAC/P3 program and learn how Lake Tech has implemented this innovative project. HVAC students participated in the week’s topic of refrigerants and how it relates to changes in states of matter, heat transfer, and problem shooting in an electrical unit. These topics were linked to the GED components of: states of matter, the water cycle, heat transfer, physics laws, and reading schematics and diagrams. By integrating the academic and technical curriculum, students continue to make gains in subject areas as well as in the HVAC components.

This unique program at Lake Tech allows students who do not have a high school diploma to enroll in the HVAC program and work on both their GED prep skills and their technical skills in an integrated fashion. This model has proven to be very successful with the Lake Tech students, so educators from around the state are visiting so they will be able to implement it at their institutions. We are proud to share our best practices with them.

BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATIONAccounting Operations / Administrative Office Specialist – The excitement over being part the United Way’s VITA program has everyone in the Accounting Operations and Administrative Office Specialist program waiting for the tax season to begin. Our students will be volunteering their time to the VITA program this tax season. VITA is a great way for the students to interact and interview clients while preparing their taxes; it’s a great cause and helps the community.

The students welcomed Ms. Vandewater, Career Services Consultant for Career Source Central Florida. She discussed a variety of career related topics including employers’ expectations, positive attitude, and success in the workforce. She engaged all of the students in a fast-paced and an informative session.

HOSPITALITY & TOURISMProfessional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – Culinary students were busy making sushi this week. We worked on perfecting our Asian flavor profiles and had absolutely no fun!!

LAW, PUBLIC SAFETY & SECURITYFire/EMT Combo – On Monday, January 22, 23 students graduated from the Fire/EMT Combo program. The ceremony was held at Tavares Middle School and there were several hundred family and friends in attendance. Robert Chandler, Executive Director of the Agency for Economic Prosperity in Lake County was the guest speaker.

Congressman Dan Webster visited the Lake Technical College Fire Academy on Wednesday, January 24. He toured the facility and learned about its impact in our community.

MANUFACTURINGCNC Production Specialist – CNC Production Specialist class started the week of by learning the basics of the MTS simulator. They learned how to input CNC code and see the results of their efforts.

To end the second week we took a field trip to a local job shop, Eagle Quality Products. The students had a chance to see first-hand the type of work that they will be experiencing in the work place.

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICSAutomotive Service Technology – Students currently are working on a manual transaxle. They disassemble it, identify all the components, and then reassemble it. This process is designed so the students learn the inner workings of a manual transaxle, the different components’ names, and the tools used in the industry. Other students were putting the finishing touches on an engine built last semester; they will be ready to have it running by the end of the month.

ADULT EDUCATIONGED – Several of the part-time instructors attended the Brevard Co-Teacher Academy this past Saturday. Mrs. Avelli was sooo excited to meet Ron Cruz, the man behind the many amazing math webinars. Mrs. Stafford tried to teach us her European math method of subtraction…Mr. Seidner is still perplexed! We had a wonderful day interacting with other Adult Ed instructors from counties all over the state and used hands on manipulatives to compute word problems and visualization of reading texts. Thank you to ACE and Brevard Community Center for offering a fun and informative workshop day!

In reading, students took a crash course on diseases and healthy lifestyle. We looked at questions, such as: What is the difference between a bacteria and a virus? How do we treat each and prevent illnesses? What is cancer and how do these cells mutate and take over organs? Students used various texts and videos to illustrate and explain these topics. The Salmonella virus relating to uncooked chicken video was a crack-up.

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY TRAINING

Laurie Bryant, Coordinator for the new Corporate and Community Training Department represented Lake Tech last Tuesday at the January Networking Breakfast at Seacoast Bank, Eustis.

On Wednesday, she participated in the Celebrate Literacy Week 2018 sponsored by Early Learning Coalition of Lake County. She read the book Big Al by Andrew Clements to five pre-K classes at the Christian Academy Pre-school in Eustis.

On Friday, she attended the safety orientation at Lake County Detention Center in Tavares and will begin volunteering by tutoring juvenile males in math on Friday afternoons.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Lake Technical College was well represented at the Community Healthy Living Expo on Saturday. Charles Schrock, one of Lake Tech’s Practical Nursing instructors, along with his nursing students, were present to provide blood pressure testing. They also were able to check out the healthcare related seminars offered at the expo.

Art Seidner, Adult Education Coordinator, was present to assist attendees with any questions and provide information regarding career and technical education programs as well as GED and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs. The overall exposition consisted of health screenings, chef demos, seminars, kids Zone and fun activities, food and craft vendors, live entertainment, and door prizes. The entire event proceeds benefit low income seniors, local children and families. Others who were represented at the event were the Lake County Department of Health, a local chiropractor, various healthy food related vendors, health insurance providers, etc.

George Alvarez and Morgan Black represented Lake Tech at the Lake County Schools Title 1 Winter Family Day at Clermont Elementary School on Saturday, January 20th

Morgan Black represented Lake Technical College at the Alee Academy College Day/College Night on January 24.

On January 25, she represented Lake Tech at Spring Creek Charter School for Career Day and on Friday, January 26, she participated at Treadway Elementary for their Career Day.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Career and Technology Specialist Sonya Rosenglick and Adult Education Coordinator Art Seidner attended FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference) that was held in Orlando last week. This is one of the premier educational conferences and both Sonya and Art learned many new best practices that they can bring back to the rest of the Lake Tech faculty. Sonya was quite excited when she won an Echo! Wonder how she will implement that into her staff development sessions??!

Sonya Rosenglick has prepared a series of instructional technology workshops she is calling “Fabulous Fridays.” Take advantage of one or more of them so you can implement new tools into your programs.

AND WE ARE IN!!

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing is Open and Students are Enrolled!

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ARCHITECTURE & CONSTRUCTIONHVAC 1 & 2 – Visitors from Florida State College in Jacksonville, Polk State College, and Orange Technical College will be on campus Tuesday and Wednesday to visit the HVAC/P3 program. This unique program at Lake Tech allows students who do not have a high school diploma to enroll in the HVAC program and work on both their GED prep skills and their technical skills in an integrated fashion. This model has proven to be very successful with the Lake Tech students, so educators from around the state are visiting so they will be able to implement it at their institutions. We are proud to share our best practices with them.

BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATIONAccounting Operations / Administrative Office Specialist – One of the most rewarding events of our school year is our opportunity to work with the United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties on the VITA program. VITA, or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, allows our students to take and complete an IRS Certification class. All of the Accounting and Administrative Office Specialist students participated in the United Way’s VITA program this week. They will become IRS certified to voluntarily prepare taxes for clients in February and March of this year. VITA is a great way for the students to interact and interview clients while preparing their taxes; it’s a great cause and helps the community, and a real positive “tool in the student’s tool-belt”.

HEALTH SCIENCEEMS – Several EMT students volunteered to participate as “patients” in a mock mass casualty incident scenario (MCI). The MCI was set-up by Lake EMS for promotional testing. Students were moulage with fake injuries to make the scenario appear more real. Thank you Stephanie Scilabro, Lace Napper and Susan Reed (not pictured).

The EMS Program Department is pleased to welcome 25 new students to the Paramedic program which began January 10, 2018. The program is 1100 hours and provides academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare students for employment as paramedics.

Medical Assisting – Medical Assisting students are practicing their records management skills. Preparing patients’ charts is an important job of the medical assistant.

Nursing Assistant – Can you guess what she just did? She passed her state exam and is now a Certified Nursing Assistant!

HOSPITALITY & TOURISMProfessional Culinary Arts & Hospitality – Students decorated gingerbread houses during the holiday season. They were on display in the student cafeteria for all to see.

It is that time of year again when students are practicing for the upcoming SkillsUSA Competition.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYComputer Systems & Information Technology / Cybersecurity – The programs received a donation of servers this week from Sand Lake Imaging. They range in age from 2008-2012 and will be great for students to train on, configure RAID, and install and destroy OS. In addition, we also received some 5th and 6th generation firewalls for the students in Cybersecurity to utilize.

LAW, PUBLIC SAFETY & SECURITYFire/EMT Combo – Congressman Dan Webster will be visiting the Lake Technical College Fire Academy on Wednesday, January 24. He is interested in an update on the program and its impact in our community.

Florida Law Enforcement Academy

Graduation for the most recent Law Enforcement Academy was held on December 18 at the Institute of Public Safety. During the ceremony, long-time instructor Barbara Schmidt, was honored for her years of service as she announced her retirement.

These students just finished taking the state Law Enforcement exam and all of them passed! They were waiting for some of their classmates to finish up!

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICSAutomotive Service Technology – Students currently are working on the Engine Performance course and convert a carbureted small engine into a fuel injected engine. In the process, they have learned the importance of the various sensors that communicate with the engine computer in order for it to know when and how much fuel to add as well as all the others inputs and outputs necessary to have a good running fuel injected engine. They were pleased and really proud of themselves for being able to wire and attach all the components to make it run.

Automotive Collision Technology Technician – Among the skills students learn in this program, welding is one of them!

ADULT EDUCATIONGED – We recently inducted 78 new members into the National Adult Education Honor Society (NAEHS). This is an honor society to recognize outstanding students who attend classes for: English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED. Students are nominated by their instructors for demonstrating attributes of dependability, cooperative spirit, and work ethic. They receive a certificate, letters of recommendation and an honor society pin. Those students who complete their high school diploma are also recognized at graduation.

Our guest speaker was Mrs. Laura Ross, one of our ESOL/ABE instructors. She is also an award-winning writer and Poet Laureate! Mrs. Ross had many encouraging and inspiring words for all of us. Congratulations to all the students who were inducted! Who will be inducted next time?

ESOL – What a wonderful time of the year it is…and a busy one, too!! We’ve taken the opportunity to relish the bright, crisp air, and the many fun activities that have gone along with the season. Our students even managed to sneak in a surprise birthday celebration for Mrs. Ross. Before the break, we enjoyed our traditional multi-cultural Thanksgiving with all its diverse deliciousness. We sampled dishes from Thailand, Argentina, Vietnam, Venezuela, the Caribbean, and many more. What a feast! We also had a festive Christmas celebration complete with games and goodies to eat. Yes, we’ve had fun, but our students have been working hard as usual.

In Advanced English, we’ve been studying the complex Perfect Verb Tense, and doing lots of reading and writing. Our students have even started to write their own autobiographies. Our Beginning English speakers are covering plural and singular nouns, and enjoying many opportunities for conversation. We’re looking forward to what the new year brings. There is always so much to do and learn!!

ESOL – Clermont Campus – The students presented their role-plays from renting a new apartment to purchasing products in a store. The students have been working on their presentations and they did a fantastic job this week!! They are a truly hard working group and several students are interested in career tech programs at Lake Tech after they complete their ESOL class. We have had lots of food, fun and active learning in our class.

CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY TRAINING

Laurie Bryant, Coordinator for the new Corporate and Community Training Department and instructor Beverly Paff have been working very hard developing a new program for the female inmates in the jail. The idea, developed by LCSO Major Mass, was to provide the inmates with sewing skills so they would be able to sew uniforms, laundry bags, and other items. Learn more by reading this story that was recently published in the Daily Commercial.

STUDENT AFFAIRS

In the Community – Morgan Black represented Lake Tech at the Villages High School Career Fair. She also attended the Tavares Soccer League as we are the shirt sponsor for the teams.

STAFF DEVELOPMENT – Sonya Rosenglick has prepared a series of instructional technology workshops she is calling “Fabulous Fridays.” Take advantage of one or more of them so you can implement new tools into your programs.